WO2013026332A1

WO2013026332A1 - Software installation and upgrade method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2013026332A1
Application number: PCT/CN2012/078356
Authority: WO
Inventors: 库宇; 魏亚民
Original assignee: 腾讯科技（深圳）有限公司
Priority date: 2011-08-23
Filing date: 2012-07-09
Publication date: 2013-02-28
Also published as: US20140173578A1; US9606791B2; CN102955702A; CN102955702B

Abstract

Disclosed are a software installation and upgrade method and device, the method comprising: creating the version directory of a current version number, placing the version directory under a specified directory, and placing the resource file of the current version software into the version directory; when a main software program starts running, searching for the newest version directory of the version number under the specified directory, and loading the version directory; when the software is running, downloading and installing the upgrade software; creating a version directory corresponding to the new version number, placing the version directory of the new version number under a directory at the same level as the old version directory, and placing the resource file of the new version software into the version directory of the new version number. The device comprises an initial installation module, a main program file and an upgrade process module. The present invention upgrades the software silently, and reduces human-computer interaction time, thus facilitating the use of the software by a user.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of software technologies for data processing devices, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for software installation and upgrade. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Computer software has evolved over the decades and is slowly integrated into the Internet. Openness and cooperation have become an inevitable trend in the development of Internet technology. The future Internet can be “more integrated” and more shared and harvested. Building a more development platform will give users across the Internet a whole new experience. At the same time, the user's usage habits are constantly changing, the software update frequency is shortened, and the new function is iteratively fast. This requires the software itself to be upgraded enough to better meet the user's needs.

The existing computer desktop software installation and upgrade methods are usually: At the time of installation, the main program file can be executed to execute the main program (.exe format) file and the resource file such as the .dll file to be loaded in the same directory. The advantage of this is that the Windows operating system will first load the directory of the .exe file at the same level by default, so that it can quickly find the corresponding resources such as dll files. When upgrading a software, it usually requires the current main program (.exe) to exit first, and then complete the download and installation process of the upgrade package. Next, the user needs to start the software again to see the upgraded function.

The disadvantages of the existing software installation and upgrade methods are:

When upgrading, you must manually exit the current main program to complete the software installation. This not only requires the user to perform excessive human-computer interaction, but also seriously interferes with the user's current software, and the user experience is not good. At the same time, most of the existing desktop software requires the user to manually trigger the software upgrade. In fact, according to the data of the user operation, the ratio of the user manually clicking the software upgrade is not large, which brings unnecessary use obstacles to the user's use. .

Therefore, the prior art cannot complete the silent upgrade of the entire software during the running of the main program. The so-called software silent upgrade refers to: In the process of normal use of the software, the software can In order to achieve automatic upgrade, the user does not feel the upgrade process at the front end. After the upgrade is completed, the user can directly use the updated software after starting the software next time. Summary of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a software installation and upgrade method and device, so as to implement silent upgrade of software, reduce the number of human-computer interactions in the upgrade process, and facilitate users to use the software.

The technical solution of the present invention is implemented as follows:

A software installation and upgrade method, including:

Create a version directory of the current version number, place the version directory in the specified directory, and place the resource file of the current version software in the version directory;

When the software main program starts running, it searches for the latest version directory of the version number in the specified directory, and loads the version directory;

When the software main program is running, the upgrade process is started to download and install the upgrade software. When the upgrade software is installed, the version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software is created, and the version directory of the new version number is placed in the same directory as the old version. In the same level directory, the resource file of the new version of the software is placed in the version directory of the new version number.

A software installation and upgrade device, including:

The initial installation module is used for the initial installation of the software. During the initial installation, the version directory of the current version number is created, the version directory is placed in the specified directory, and the resource file of the current version software is placed in the version directory;

The main program file, used to start the running software main program, and when starting the run, search for the latest version directory of the version number in the same directory, and load the version directory;

The upgrade process module is used to start when the software is running, download and install the upgrade software after startup, and when installing the upgrade software, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software. The version directory of the new version number is placed in the same directory as the old version directory, and the resource file of the new version software is placed in the version directory of the new version number.

A storage medium in which is stored a data processing program for performing the method of the present invention.

Compared with the prior art, the solution provided by the present invention uses the resource files of each version of the software to be placed in the corresponding version directory, and all the version directories are placed in the same directory as the executable file of the software, and the software is When the executable file starts execution, it searches for the latest version directory of the version number in the same directory, and loads the version directory. Therefore, the present invention can realize the automatic upgrade installation in the process of using the software normally without exiting the software, and the user completely does not perceive the upgrade process when the user uses the front end. After the upgrade is completed, the user starts the software next time. The updated software can be directly used to implement silent upgrade of the software, reducing the number of human-computer interactions during the upgrade process, and facilitating user operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a software installation and upgrade method according to the present invention;

2 is a schematic diagram of a directory structure during initial installation of the software according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a directory structure after software upgrade and installation according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a detailed implementation of the upgrade process according to the present invention; Flow chart

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a software installation and upgrade apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the software installation and upgrade apparatus according to the present invention; A specific composition diagram. The embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the present invention. Example, not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive scope are the scope of the present invention.

The invention is applicable not only to computer software, but also to software on various data processing devices (such as smart phones, tablets, etc.).

1 is a flow chart of a software installation and upgrade method according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 1, the method includes:

Step 101: Create a version directory of the current version number, place the version directory in the specified directory, and place the resource file of the current version software in the version directory.

In a preferred embodiment, this step may be performed when the software is initially installed, although in other embodiments it may be performed at other times, such as the time specified by the server.

Step 102: When the software main program (for example, the main exe program on the computer) starts running, search for the latest version directory of the version number in the specified directory, and load the version directory.

Step 103: After the software main program starts running, start the upgrade process, download and install the upgrade software by the upgrade process, and when the upgrade software is installed, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software, and the version of the new version number The directory is placed in a directory at the same level as the old version directory (ie, under the specified directory), and the resource file of the new version software is placed in the version directory of the new version number.

After the upgrade process completes the download and installation of the upgrade software, it will automatically exit, and has no effect on the process of the main program. When the main program is started next time, the main program searches for the latest version directory of the version number in the specified directory, and loads the version directory, thereby completing the process of running the upgrade version directory, so that the user can see the updated software function. The entire upgrade process is completely transparent to the user, and the user is not aware of the upgrade process.

In the present invention, the specified directory may be a directory of the same level as the main program file of the software, or may be a directory of another level, such as a directory of the upper level of the main program file of the software or a directory of the next level.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the specified directory is a directory of the same level as the main program file of the software. The following is a detailed description. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a directory structure during initial installation of the software according to the present invention. See picture

2. The present invention is different from the software installation directory of the prior art. In the prior art, the main program exe file is usually placed in the same directory as the resource file, such as the .dll to be loaded, and the present invention will be outside the main program exe file. Referring to the outer directory, the main program exe file 201 shown in Figure 2 is set in the root directory of the software, and the resource files that need to be loaded when the software is running, such as .dll files, are placed in the version directory of the current version number. In 202, the version directory 202 is placed in a directory at the same level as the main program exe file 201, such as here in the root directory. The main program exe file 201 is actually just an empty shell, and its function is only to search for the version directory updated with the version number in the same directory, and load the version directory.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a directory structure after the software is upgraded and installed according to the present invention. See picture

3. After the upgrade software is downloaded and installed and upgraded by the present invention, the upgrade software (usually an upgrade package) is actually decompressed in the installation directory, and all resource files are placed in the version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software. In 301, the location of the old version directory 202 and the main program exe file 201 are unchanged, so when upgrading, there is no impact on the currently running main program, and when the user next starts, the updated version directory is automatically loaded. Run the new version of the software.

After the present invention changes the placement directory of the main program file, the operating system searches for files according to its own directory search order. Windows provides an application programming interface (API) to set the search order of the application loading. dll resource files. The API is:

BOOLWINAPI SetDllDirectory(LPCTSTR lpPathName)

The software main program utilizes the API, so that after the main program file is extracted, the operating system searches for the .dll directory order, so that the resource file can be smoothly loaded.

In the present invention, due to the silent upgrade of the software itself, when the software is upgraded multiple times, it is actually in the user installation directory and the specified directory (if the specified directory is not the same as the software main program installation directory) Multiple version directory folders, if you follow the installation and uninstall process of existing desktop software, you usually need to pair - such as the installation package made with Microsoft Software Installation (MSI) tool, you can only uninstall the software when uninstalling the software. This version matches the installation directory file, and it does not reach the entire software without leaving traces. Except. Therefore, the present invention can use the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS, Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) script to rewrite the uninstaller to control the uninstallation behavior of the software, as shown in Figure 3, the uninstaller 302 is used to completely uninstall the software. The NSIS is a script-enabled installer for Windows. It is completely free, open source, supports scripts, and can be scripted to control any details of the installation process. The uninstaller 302 generated by the NSIS can be packaged into the main installation package, and the uninstallation of the software can be implemented after the uninstaller 302 is started. The physical operation of the uninstallation is to specify the specified directory and the main program file 201. All files and folders in the same directory are deleted, that is, all files and folders in the root directory of QPlus.exe are deleted, so the entire software (including the software of each version) can be completely removed without leaving traces, and the uninstallation is performed at the same time. The program does not need to be changed in future software upgrades, and its maintenance costs can be reduced to zero.

FIG. 4 is a detailed implementation flowchart of the upgrade process of the present invention. Referring to Figure 4, the process includes:

Step 401, start the main program, and start running.

Step 402: The main program starts the upgrade process.

Here, since the entire upgrade process involves multiple interactions with the upgrade server, in order to reduce the client's request for the server as much as possible, the frequency of the query must be controlled. Therefore, in another embodiment, before starting the upgrade process, that is, before step 402, the method may further include: querying whether there is one instance of the software main program running in the current system, and if so, utilizing one of them (for example, usually The first) running main program instance starts the upgrade process; otherwise, the upgrade process is started directly by using the software main program instance. In this way, multiple instances can be restricted from repeating the upgrade query, thereby controlling the frequency of upgrading the query and reducing the amount of client requests to the server.

Step 403: After the upgrade process is started, the upgrade process first completes the self-upgrade query process of the upgrade process, that is, the upgrade process interacts with the server to determine whether it is self-upgrading, that is, whether the server has an upgrade program file than the local update version, and if Then download the new version of the upgrade program exe file and exit the upgrade process; otherwise, go to step 404. Of course, this step 403 is an optional step. You can skip this step and directly perform step 404. Step 404: The upgrade process interacts with the server to determine whether the software needs to be upgraded, that is, whether the server has a newer version of the upgrade software, and if yes, step 405 is performed; otherwise, the upgrade process is exited.

Step 405: Download a new version of the upgrade software. For example, the upgrade software is usually in the form of an upgrade software package, so the new version of the upgrade package can be downloaded.

Step 406: Install an upgrade package, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software, and place the version directory of the new version number in a directory at the same level as the old version directory, and the resource file of the new version software. Place it in the version directory of the new version number and exit the upgrade process.

Since the upgrade package belongs to sensitive data, in another embodiment, after downloading the upgrade package, before installing the upgrade package, that is, between steps 405 and 406, the method further includes: upgrading the software obtained by the downloading The package performs the MD5 value matching. If the matching is performed, the subsequent steps are performed to perform the software upgrade installation. If the matching does not match, the download fails, the downloaded software upgrade package is deleted, and the software upgrade package is repeatedly downloaded, if the download fails. When the number of times reaches the specified number of times (for example, up to 3 times), the download process ends and the upgrade process is exited.

Corresponding to the above method, the present invention also discloses a software installation and upgrade device. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an implementation of a software installation and upgrade apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 5, the apparatus 500 includes:

The initial installation module 501 is used for initial installation of the software. During the initial installation, the version directory of the current version number is created, and the version directory is placed in the specified directory, and the resource file of the current version software is placed in the version directory; Figure 2 shows.

The main program file 502 is used to start the running software main program, and when starting to run, search for the latest version directory of the specified version number, and load the version directory.

The upgrade process module 503 is configured to start when the software is running, download and install the upgrade software after the startup, and when the upgrade software is installed, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software, and place the version directory of the new version number in the In the same directory as the old version directory, the resource file of the new version software is placed in the version directory of the new version number, as shown in FIG. Shown.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the software installation and upgrade apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in order to completely remove the entire software (including the software of each version) without leaving a trace, the apparatus further includes an uninstalling module 504 for using the specified directory and all the directories in the same directory as the main program file. Files and folders are all deleted. In order to reduce the request amount of the client and the server, the device may further include a query module 505, configured to query whether there is one instance of the software main program running in the current system, and if so, utilize one of them (for example, usually The running main program instance starts the upgrade process module 503; otherwise, the upgrade process module 503 is directly started by using the software main program instance.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a specific composition of the upgrade process module according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 7, the upgrade process module 503 includes:

The upgrade process self-upgrade module 701 is configured to first interact with the server to determine whether to upgrade from the server before downloading the upgrade software. If yes, download the new version of the upgrade program file and exit the upgrade process; otherwise, trigger the upgrade process module to download and install. The upgrade software.

The version upgrade module 702 is configured to interact with the server to determine whether the software needs to be upgraded before downloading the upgrade software. If yes, trigger the download and install the new version of the upgrade package; otherwise, exit the upgrade process.

The upgrade software download module 703 is used to download a new version of the upgrade package from the server. The verification module 704 is configured to perform MD5 value matching on the downloaded upgrade package after downloading the upgrade package, and if the matching is performed, triggering the upgrade software installation module to install the upgrade package, if not The matching determines that the download fails, deletes the downloaded upgrade package, and triggers the upgrade software download module to re-download the upgrade package, and if the number of download failures reaches a specified number of times (for example, up to 3 times), exit The upgrade process.

The upgrade software installation module 705 is configured to install the downloaded upgrade software package, and at the time of installation, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software, and place the version directory of the new version number in the same directory as the old version directory. In the directory of the level, the resource file of the new version of the software is placed in the version directory of the new version number. Of course, the upgrade process self-upgrade module 701 and the check module 704 are optional modules, and can be freely selected in other embodiments.

Each of the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by a program executed by a data processing device such as a computer. Obviously, the program constitutes the invention. In addition, programs that are typically stored in a storage medium are executed by directly reading the program out of the storage medium or by installing or copying the program to a storage device (such as a hard disk and or a memory) of the data processing device. Therefore, such a storage medium also constitutes the present invention. The storage medium can use any type of recording method, such as paper storage medium (such as paper tape, etc.), magnetic storage medium (such as floppy disk, hard disk, flash memory, etc.), optical storage medium (such as CD-ROM, etc.), magneto-optical storage medium ( Such as MO, etc.).

Accordingly, the present invention also discloses a storage medium in which a computer program is stored, which is used in any of the above embodiments of the present invention. In order to effectively reduce the operation and maintenance costs for software upgrades in the later period, and have the powerful ability to upgrade the self-upgrade.

The present invention is particularly applicable to desktop open software. In addition to the usual functions of ordinary software installation and uninstallation, the desktop open software also needs to be combined with the software itself to achieve rapid silent upgrade, which can better meet the basic requirements of the user for software installation and uninstallation. . In the process of using the software, the user hopes to experience the latest functions of the software, and the operation software upgrade itself is relatively cumbersome, and the present invention can provide a silent upgrade function, which can effectively reduce the user's open software to the desktop. Use the threshold.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and thus equivalent changes made in the claims of the present invention are still within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

A software installation and upgrade method, characterized in that:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: deleting all of the specified directories and all files and folders in the same directory as the main program file when the software is uninstalled.

The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the specified directory is: a directory of the same level as the main program file of the software or a directory of another level.

The method according to claim 1, wherein before starting the upgrade process, the method further comprises: querying whether there is one instance of the software main program running in the current system, and if so, using one of the running mains The program instance starts the upgrade process; otherwise, the upgrade process is started directly by using the software main program instance.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the upgrade process first interacts with the server to determine whether to self-upgrade after starting the upgrade software, and if yes, downloading a new version of the upgrade program file, and Exit the upgrade process; otherwise download and install the upgrade software.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is downloading upgrade soft Before the device, the method further includes: interacting with the server to determine whether the software needs to be upgraded, and if so, downloading and installing the new version of the upgrade software; otherwise, exiting the upgrade process.

The method according to claim 1, wherein after the upgrade software is downloaded and the upgrade software is installed, the method further includes: performing MD5 value matching on the upgraded software obtained by the downloading, and installing the upgrade software if the matching is performed, If it does not match, it is determined that the download fails, the downloaded upgrade software is deleted, and the upgrade software is re-downloaded. If the number of download failures reaches a specified number of times, the download process is ended.

8. A software installation and upgrade apparatus, characterized in that:

a main program file, used to start the running software main program, and when starting to run, search for the latest version directory of the version number in the specified directory, and load the version directory;

The upgrade process module is used to start when the software is running, download and install the upgrade software after startup, and when installing the upgrade software, create a version directory corresponding to the new version number of the current upgrade software, and place the version directory of the new version number in In the same level directory of the old version directory, the resource file of the new version software is placed in the version directory of the new version number.

The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the apparatus further comprises an uninstalling module for deleting all of the specified directories and all files and folders in the same directory as the main program file.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the specified directory

The device according to claim 8, wherein the device further comprises: a query module, configured to query whether there is more than one software main program running in the current system For example, if yes, the upgrade process module is started by using one of the running main program instances; otherwise, the upgrade process module is directly started by using the software main program instance.

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the upgrade process module includes an upgrade process self-upgrade module, and is configured to first interact with the server to determine whether to upgrade from the server before downloading the upgrade software, and if so, download The new version of the upgrade program file, and exit the upgrade process; otherwise trigger the upgrade process module to download and install the upgrade software.

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the upgrade process module includes a version upgrade module, configured to interact with the server to determine whether the software needs to be upgraded before downloading the upgrade software, and if so, trigger downloading and installing a new one. Version of the upgrade software; otherwise exit the upgrade process.

The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the upgrade process module includes a verification module, configured to perform MD5 on the downloaded upgrade software after downloading the upgrade software and before installing the upgrade software. The value matches, if it matches, the upgrade process module is installed to install the upgrade software. If it does not match, it is determined that the download fails, the downloaded upgrade software is deleted, and the upgrade process module is triggered to re-download the upgrade software, if the download fails. When the number of times reaches the specified number, the upgrade process is exited.

A storage medium, characterized in that a data processing program is stored therein, the data processing program for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.